2013-2014 Player Report Cards: The Minor Defensemen

Corey Potter

He may not be a wizard who can fly a broom from England to Bulgaria, but the 30-year-old native of Lansing, Michigan is a serviceable 7th defenseman who would be a welcome addition to any teams press box. The likely recipient of a 2-way contract come summer, Potter dressed in 3 regular season contests and 1 playoff game during his brief stay in Beantown, amassing a whopping zero points and 2 blocked shots.

Chiarelli's decision to snag Potter of the waiver wire most likely came down to attempting to build depth with limited options. Considering the defenseman available via trade resembled a burning dumpster that was once prominent in 2009, Potter wasn't a half-bad acquisition, at least as far as guys who only play in dire emergencies go.

Potter played in Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Semi-Final against Detroit and somehow managed to find himself killing penalties. He looked competent enough to warrant a "well, it could be worse" reaction from the crowd whenever he stepped on the ice, and hell, showed himself worthy enough of being that veteran 7th defenseman teams so highly covet down the stretch.

CP Grade: B

The Corey Potter era has, most likely, been forgotten by many and there's a good chunk of people who failed to realize it even existed. Either way, he didn't do anything substantial, nor did he do anything as irritating as watching Kevan Miller try to move the puck out his own end. Hence the "B" grade.

I wouldn't mind if Potter came back as a 7th defenseman, but with a group of young defensemen more crowded than a line at the DMV on Saturday morning, he'll likely have to look elsewhere for a spot come 2014-2015.

Zach Trotman

At 6'3", 219 pounds, Trotman is a more filled out, less awkward and not quite as talented version of Dougie Hamilton. He'll be 24 years old going into 2014-2015 and he's a restricted free-agent in a few weeks, so it would make sense to pencil Trotman in to Providence's opening day lineup. He has offensive upside and didn't look like a buffoon defensively, though keep in mind he was sheltered, as most rookies under Claude Julien are, in his two appearances with Boston.

The kid - if I can call him a kid even though he's four years older than I - shoots a ton, whizzing 104 shots in 53 games with Providence and if we've learned anything from analytics and possession statistics, shots are good!  

I honestly can't elaborate further on Trotman, because I only saw half of his first game against Ottawa before wandering around UConn trolling for strange. And I was working during his game against Los Angeles, which was, as usual, a miserable experience.

ZT Grade: Incomplete

Just resign the kid and stick him in Providence. If anyone gets hurt he'll be numero uno on speed dial. But that's just my opinion on the matter.

David Warsofsky

The former Boston University Terrier is a good defenseman. Such a simple statement, I know, but he's got some offensive flare as evident in the GIF I've included below:

 If John Buccigross were here, he'd say something like "whoa, saucy mitts! Celly snipe!" or whatever it he says as he desperately tries to remain 20 years old. Thankfully he's not here, and instead, you're stuck reading the words I use to form sentences.

Like Trotman, Warsofsky is also a restricted free-agent. I'm currently in favor of bringing back Warsofsky as the spare wheel on the blueline, before he ultimately takes Kevan Miller's job by, oh, I don't know, lets say around Christmas.

Warsofsky's 54.3% Corsi is encouraging and so is his 60.0% goals for percentage. It isn't necessarily "the Bruins way" to dress a pair of offensive-minded d-men - Krug and Warsofsky - but hey, he can't possibly be a bigger liability than that Miller fella I've already slammed twice in this hastily written piece. But what do I know, I can't even skate.

DW Grade: Incomplete

Peter, please resign the kid.